Broken Crowns
by WickedWitchElphaba
Summary: Cora observes as Regina attempts the unthinkable, and helps her pick up the pieces. Just as promised. TRIGGER WARNING: ATTEMPTED SUICIDE. Spoilers for 2x10 The Cricket Game. Not related to the Mumford and Sons song.


**Uh...hi XD So...god how do you write these intro things, I don't even remember, it's been so long. **

**Um...the inspiration for this came from a desperate need for some angsty Cora/Regina interaction while knowing that it would take something pretty big to soften Cora. I do apologize if they seem a bit out of character, but I think given the circumstances of the most recent episode this should be fairly believable. **

**So enjoy...read and review...etc., etc.**

* * *

Regina Mills had never been the type to simply give up.

But standing by the docks of Storybrooke, the once formidable Mayor could see no other option. She had been framed for a shoddy murder job. Her son was safe in the arms of his biological family- the family she could never have. He preferred them anyway, but with this new turn of events she knew there was no getting him back. He was gone, gone forever. And the only people who'd ever been in her corner were either dead or turned against her by whoever had killed Dr. Hopper.

It didn't really matter who had done it. The point was it was done, and Regina was the one taking the fall. She may have magic, but it wouldn't be long before Snow and her despicable family would find some way to capture her. She would be executed for certain this time.

Best get it out of the way now, on her own terms. She would not give them the pleasure of killing her, not this time.

No, she would do that herself.

Even so, it was terribly hard to jump. The water would be cold, deep, and unforgiving. And Regina had made sure there was no way she could live, having tied her hands together with some spare rope on the dock. Once the decision was made, there was no going back.

But how could she do anything else? She had no one. No father, no mother, no lover, no friend, no son. She would be put on trial for first-degree murder. Even outside of the anarchy of Storybrooke, that was grounds for the death penalty in many states (though Regina couldn't for the life of her remember if Maine was one of them. She supposed it didn't really matter.)

And she would not give Snow and her darling Prince Charming the satisfaction. Steeling herself, Regina stepped forward. Inch by inch, she made her way to the edge of the dock, muttering a spell as she did so that would increase her density. She would sink like a weight.

Standing on the precipice, Regina peered at the churning waters lapping at her feet. She thought briefly of Henry, and blinked back tears. It was better this way. Strengthening her resolve to not turn back, she took a deep breath, and stepped off the dock.

* * *

"Might I ask just what you are doing?" the pirate asked as he sauntered across the deck of his much too small ship. Cora truly loathed living in the unseen vessel, it smelled perpetually of seaweed and really allowed for no breathing room. Nor an escape from any…unwanted company. She turned towards Hook, throwing him a withering glare.

"Observing, my dear Captain," she said, returning her gaze to the object of her interest.

"Your daughter." Cora only nodded, keeping her focus on the figure standing at the edge of the docks. Just what was Regina doing?

"Why are her hands tied like that?" Hook asked in his lazy drawl. For once, Cora had no snarky response. In fact, she appeared to Hook more concerned than anything. Not exactly an emotion typical of the powerful sorceress.

"Well, she certainly looks broken," he said, if only to break the silence. "Why haven't you made your move?" Cora held up an irritated hand, silencing him. Watching Regina inch closer and closer to the edge of the dock, Cora began to feel a small pit of fear deep within her heartless chest.

"She's using magic," Cora observed, sensing the slight shift in the atmosphere but unable to identify the spell. "What on earth is she planning?"

Regina now stood at the very edge of the dock, her toes hanging off the platform. Cora could see she had her gaze tilted downwards, almost as if she were about to dive off.

The thought had barely even formed in her mind when that was exactly what Regina did.

Cora gasped audibly, frozen in shock as the water closed over Regina's dark hair. The icy water may as well have submerged Cora too, as the small pit of fear burst itself open around her.

A moment passed. Two. Regina did not re-emerge.

"No…NO!" Cora shouted frantically, vanishing from the ship and re-appearing on the dock. She dropped to her knees in an uncharacteristically un-ladylike fashion as it hit her what Regina had just done.

She wrung her hands helplessly for a moment, as worry temporarily rendered her incapable of remembering the proper spell. She was wasting time, Regina couldn't last much longer…breathing deeply, Cora extended a hand over the ocean, forcing clarity of mind to return to her.

The water surged beneath her as it pushed up against itself, sloshing over the wooden dock and bubbling as if it boiled. A figure suddenly shot up out of the ocean, hanging suspended in the air for a brief moment, dark like a raven against the bright clouds. Then it collapsed in on itself, and Cora waved her hand and brought Regina floating back down to the ground, safe in her arms at last.

For a moment Cora simply sat there, relishing in the feel of being able to hold her baby girl again. However reality set in, and Cora realized her daughter was not breathing. She scooted further away from the edge of the dock, and lay Regina flat on the ground so her head sat in Cora's lap. She positioned her hands over Regina's chest, willing the water up and out of her lungs in a quick, fluid motion. Immediately Regina began to cough and splutter. Cora held her face in her hands, running her fingers through Regina's sopping hair and wrestling with the torrent of emotion threatening to spill out of her. Regina was alive. She was alive.

Breathing more easily, Cora snapped her fingers and the two vanished in a puff of smoke, re-appearing in the dinky sleeping quarters beneath the deck of the ship. Though it was not ideal, and certainly not warm enough, it would have to do.

She laid her daughter's unconscious form on the bed, and set to work removing her boots and heavy outer garment. It was a strange thing to Cora, similar to a man's outer coat but decidedly more feminine. It did not matter, the fashion of this Storybrooke was the least of Cora's concerns. Drying Regina off with a quick spell, Cora tucked the much too thin blankets around her shoulders. The girl was still shivering slightly, so Cora removed her cloak and draped that over her daughter as well. It still didn't seem enough.

She frowned, lightly touching her daughter's cheek. Regina's skin was like ice.

"Hook!" Cora called in a voice that shook far too much for her liking.

"YES?!" came an irritated voice from above deck. Cora resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Come here, Hook," she demanded as the pirate appeared in the doorway.

"What is it, your Majesty?" the slight tone of insubordination did not go unnoticed by Cora, but she had far more pressing matters to attend to.

"I need to you light the fires below deck. This ship is far too cold, she could catch her death," Cora said, gesturing to the prone figure on the bed. Hook glanced at her with an expression that held little sympathy, but still he nodded. He turned to go, but seemed to think better of it for a moment. There was a pause, and brown eyes met blue.

"Congratulations, your majesty," Hook said coldly. "You broke her." Before Cora could react, he was gone, leaving her to her thoughts. The words were like a punch to the gut, but Cora knew he was wrong. She had not brought Regina to this. She could not have brought Regina to this.

"I did what I had to do," she murmured. Admittedly it was not the first time Hook had expressed disapproval of her parenting skills, but what did that filthy pirate know? He had never raised a child, he couldn't possibly be expected to understand. Besides, Regina couldn't have kept living in her fantasy world forever. Her daughter needed a dose of reality. The people here were not her friends, they never would be. Regina had only been fooling herself thinking they'd ever accept her. She had needed this, Cora was certain. She needed her mother, and no one else. Love was weakness, look where it had gotten her. Alone on the edge of a dock.

This was not Cora's doing. However as she turned back to face her daughter she felt…something. Something wistful, something sad.

She sighed, lowering herself onto the small bed to sit next to Regina. The girl looked so pale…so small. Her makeup had been washed away completely, and there was a softness in her face not present in her waking hours. The sad feeling threatened to overwhelm Cora completely, and she reached out to brush a stray strand of hair away from Regina's face.

"My darling girl," she whispered softly. "It'll be all right now. Mother's here."

* * *

Blearily, Regina blinked her water-logged eyes open. She felt incredibly warm, and safe. Her eyes closed again as she breathed in the comforting scent she vaguely recognized but couldn't quite place. She stirred slightly, attempting to pull her hand up and under whatever was wrapped around her, but realized in her sleep-fogged mind that something, or rather someone, was clutching it tightly.

And then she heard a soft voice, "Regina?"

She blinked her eyes open again and an anxious face swam into view above her.

Vaguely, Regina remembered that she'd only ever seen that particular face look at her with that particular expression once before. She had been very young and had taken a rather nasty fall off one of the horses. It had knocked her out for a while, and she'd had a concussion for a few days after that.

Mother had been out of her mind with worry, yelling at all the stable hands for not watching Regina correctly and the servants for keeping the bedroom too hot or too cold, or for leaving the windows open too long or not long enough. If Regina recalled correctly, she was quite certain more than a few were turned into various insects and subsequently squashed for their incompetence.

And that's when it hit her. Mother's was the face swimming above hers. Mother had pulled her out of the ocean. Mother was in Storybrooke. Mother had gotten through the portal after all.

The safe feeling vanished. Regina struggled to sit up, to get away, but her muscles weren't working right and everything felt hazy.

"Shh, Regina, you mustn't push yourself yet," Cora urged, placing a hand on Regina's shoulder and forcing her back down. "You've had quite the ordeal."

Oh. Yes. Regina remembered, she had tried to kill herself…but obviously had not succeeded.

Or perhaps she had, and this was simply another form of hell. She knew Mother wouldn't remain this kind for long. She never did.

How had she gotten through? Just what was happening?

This had to be a dream, there was no other explanation. Surely she would wake soon, the nightmare would be over. Maybe this whole thing had been a nightmare, and she would wake up in her bed, with Henry sound asleep in the next room over...yes, of course. That must be what was happening.

With that thought in mind, Regina lay back against the pillows. They were scratchy and not very comfortable, surely her dream-mother could have done better than this? Mother had never been one to sacrifice any sort of luxury. But what did it matter, this was only a dream. Regina closed her eyes again.

But the weight on her hand did not disappear. The scratchy pillows and stiff mattress remained beneath her. She heard a small sigh from somewhere above her. Why wasn't it going away? Shouldn't she be waking up now? It had been an awfully long dream...

No...it wasn't a dream. She really had tried to kill herself. That really was her mother.

Regina sat bolt upright despite her screaming muscles. Cora gasped, drawing back in shock.

"Mother, what...how...what are you doing here?!" Regina choked out as her head spun, attempting to summon the magic inside her...she had to get out, had to get away, had to warn everyone...but she couldn't move, Mother was right there. Mother, the one who had destroyed everything she loved, Mother, who would continue to do so until her dying breath. She felt a bubble of panic well up inside her.

"Regina, please, I'm only here to help," Cora assured, reaching out a tentative hand. Regina flinched, scooting as far from her mother's touch as she possibly could. The hand withdrew, and briefly Regina thought she saw a look of hurt cross her mother's face. It faded as soon as it appeared.

"H-how did you get here?" Regina stammered. "The portal...it...we...you couldn't..."

"No, not the portal dear," Cora answered, smiling slightly, "a magic bean. Haven't I taught you the importance of a back-up plan?" What Cora didn't reveal was that it hadn't been her plan at all- that unfortunately without Hook's help she would not have made it there. Though she never would have stopped trying. She would have gone to the ends of the Earth and back to find her daughter.

Regina, for her part, felt like a little girl again, being lightly scolded by her ever-disapproving mother. Had nothing changed?

"Why?" she rasped quietly. "Why are you here?" Cora reached out to stroke Regina's cheek, and was pleased to see that Regina did not flinch away this time.

"I'm here because you need me," she said, feeling that strange ball of emotion again. Regina briefly met her mother's eyes and saw no trace of malice behind them. She felt strangely soothed by the gentle thumb caressing her face. This was not like Mother- had she left all her coldness behind in the other world after all? To Regina's chagrin she felt tears welling up behind her eyes. Curse this woman who still held her heart in her hands.

Cora too struggled to control her emotions, drinking in the feel of her daughter, the sight of her. She had come within an inch of losing her forever, and though she hated to admit it, that had shaken Cora badly. Regina was everything to her.

"You...did you...save me from the ocean...?" Regina murmured, staring down at the blankets as inexplicable shame washed over her. She noticed her mother's old cloak had also been covering her, and felt oddly touched at the gesture. Cora could only nod, though Regina noticed the slight tremor in her mother's hand.

"Why?" Cora ventured to ask after a moment. She needn't say anything else, Regina knew what she meant. She turned away, unable to bear her mother's touch any longer and unwilling to answer. Across the room she spotted something- a lone vase resting on a table, containing a single, withered rose. The poor flower had long since died, but still it remained.

"You...you kept it?" Regina asked incredulously, uncertain what to feel. Cora followed her gaze, and smiled softly.

"Of course, dear." Regina couldn't help but smile in spite of the tears threatening to fall. Love is weakness indeed. She had never taken her mother for one so sentimental. But still she was touched. Mother cared after all.

"You didn't answer my question," Cora reminded. Regina sighed, lowering her gaze from the dead flower. Curse her mother, forcing the memories back upon her. Framed for murder...no one believing in her innocence...the only one in her corner dead...her son gone forever. The wound was an old one, but every reminder of Henry was like pouring acid on a burn. And this time there was no hope. Henry would never forgive her for this, and he'd never believe her. Not now.

He was really and truly gone.

Cora watched as the woman in front of her unraveled. This was what she had wanted, wasn't it? Her daughter finally needed her. Yet Cora could not take any pleasure in Regina's pain, in fact, watching her crumple made Cora wonder if Hook wasn't right after all. But no, no, this was for the best. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on Regina's shaking shoulder.

"Oh my love...you can tell me. You must tell me," Cora urged gently, blinking back tears of her own as Regina's began to fall. Regina did not speak, but something across her face seemed to break, and suddenly she was sobbing, loud, messy, racking cries that shattered something deep inside Cora. She had wanted Regina broken, hadn't she? She had wanted her to lose everything, wanted her to need her mother...never in her wildest dreams would she have thought Regina would want to end her life.

This was not what she wanted.

Without hesitation Cora pulled Regina into a tight embrace. Remarkably, Regina did not resist, in fact, she seemed to welcome the comfort and clutched at her mother desperately as she sobbed into Cora's chest.

"My darling girl...oh my darling girl," Cora soothed in a voice choked with tears, stroking Regina's hair as she held her broken daughter close. She closed her eyes and allowed the tears to fall. Of all the moments this sort of weakness was permissible, now was one of them.

Love was weakness. Love would always be weakness. But here in the private hold of a pirate's ship, reunited with her daughter at last, Cora did not care.


End file.
